


A Wealthy Man

by Caedmon



Series: Advent [14]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Ugly Holiday Sweaters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8847079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: The Doctor had always been fascinated by wealth and what it did to people, how people chose to use the riches they had. He’d known people of every caste in his travels - from the richest of the rich, people who had never had to worry about anything, to the poorest of the poor who fought for their very survival. Currency was universal: every society had some form of it. Naturally, some people had more than others. People always prioritized differently depending on their means.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day 14 of ['Advent'.](http://archiveofourown.org/series/596995)

The Doctor had always been fascinated by wealth and what it did to people, how people chose to use the riches they had. He’d known people of every caste in his travels - from the richest of the rich, people who had never had to worry about anything, to the poorest of the poor who fought for their very survival. Currency was universal: every society had some form of it. Naturally, some people had more than others. People always prioritized differently depending on their means. 

He and Rose had been a proper couple for several months now, since shortly after they landed in Pete’s World, and the Doctor had been surprised how quickly Jackie cottoned onto the idea of the two of them together. She had even - much to his shock and dismay - taken to planting a kiss on his cheek every time he and Rose showed up at the mansion for Sunday dinner. He’d learned very quickly that although Rose loved him, had crossed universes for him, and was prepared to spend forever with him, that didn’t mean that she would come down on his side all the time. In fact, he often felt it was him against the impenetrable wall of Rose and Jackie, with Pete looking on as an amused spectator. 

At least Tony was on his side, for what it was worth. 

But now….now it was Christmastime, and he was seeing a whole new side to Jackie Tyler that he’d never seen before. He’d known Jackie made a big deal out of Christmas, of course, he’d been there for one such Christmas after he regenerated. But that was before. Before, Jackie was a single mother, an expert at tough times and pinching pennies. Now though… She had a mansion as opposed to a shabby flat. Instead of wondering where the next meal was coming from and fighting for every mouthful, she had a full staff to prepare her meals. And, perhaps best of all, she had actual velvet tracksuits instead of the much cheaper velour. 

Jackie Tyler was a woman of _means_. 

And those means apparently made her want to decorate. Lavishly. 

The Doctor had spent a lot of his lives in space, and he’d looked down on planets quite a bit. When he told Jackie, in all sincerity, that they could likely see her house from orbit, she had been less than pleased. This perplexed him, since that was the aesthetic he felt she was going for. But judging by the glares he got for the rest of the night from Jackie _and_ Rose, he’d been mistaken. He did his best to appear properly chastened. 

Then Jackie announced that they were having family pictures made and gave him a pointed look. 

He blinked up at her and pointed at his chest. “Me?”

“Of course you, you plonker! Who else?”

“But...why me?”

“Well, you’re family, aren’t ya? Or at least, you will be.” She favored Rose with a glare then and Rose flushed, ducking her head. 

“You can’t possibly,” the Doctor protested.

“I can, too, possibly, and I even got you something to wear.” Jackie reached under the tree and pulled out a box, gaily wrapped in shiny red and green, topped off with a gold bow. “Here. Hope it fits, although, cor, it’ll probably swallow you whole.”

The Doctor just looked down at the gift in his hands, his sense of dread growing. It wasn’t that he minded being called a part of Rose’s family...to be honest, that was actually a bit appealing, come to think of it, anthropological experiment of a (probable)(future) mother-in-law notwithstanding. But the idea of having pictures made together...that seemed a bit...permanent. Didn’t it?

His eyes grew wide and he looked over at Rose. She was smiling through a flush, and he knew she’d be no help. This was one of those situations where she’d come down on her mother’s side, without a doubt. _Bloody hell_.

The package, which was probably innocuous to most people, was feeling a bit more terrifying with every ticking second. What on Earth could she possibly giving him that he would need to take pic-

_No_.

He actually breathed the word out loud and looked over at Rose. “No.”

“Open it, Doctor,” she encouraged him. 

“Open it, you daft alien!”

It sprung to his lips to tell her that he was no longer an alien and that he was human enough for her daughter, thankyouverymuch, but he decided quickly that that would _probably_ not be the best course of action. Not when Jackie was standing so close to the fireplace and had iron tools at her disposal. 

Seeing no other alternative, he took a deep breath and started ripping the paper on the package, throwing the torn paper to the side haphazardly in his haste to get this over with. Once the box was exposed, he popped the tape on either side and took another deep breath before he raised the lid and pulled back the tissue paper…

...and found the ugliest Christmas jumper in the history of ugly Christmas jumpers. 

Jackie clapped in front of him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You, Pete, and Tony all have matching ones! Oh, it’s going to be brilliant! Do you love it, Doctor? Tell me you do.”

With wide eyes, the Doctor turned to Rose, his last hope for salvation in this situation. Her head was bowed and her shoulders shaking, indicating great laughter. 

“Traitor,” he muttered. 

“I don’t wear jumpers anymore,” he tried. “That was the old me.”

“You’ll wear it,” Jackie said, hands on hips, mood changing like quicksilver. “You’ll wear it and you’ll like it!”

A hand came over and rested on his leg, patting gently. 

“Wear the jumper, Doctor. It’ll be alright.”

He looked over at Rose, his love, his _Brutus_ , and her eyes were dancing. She curled one finger, indicating he should lean over so he could whisper to him, and he did as told. He always did.

“You put it on. I’ll take it off later.” She punctuated her whispered promise with a feather-light kiss to the shell of his ear, and he jumped. 

The Doctor had always been fascinated by what wealth did to people, but sometimes, he believed, wealth wasn’t measured in currency. It his case, it could be measured in one pink and yellow human. He was a wealthy man, it seemed. And it had certainly seemed to be making him do things that were opposite to his nature.

“Sounds great, Jackie! When are the photos?”

**Author's Note:**

> prompted by goingtothetardis, who asked for Tentoo opening an ugly sweater from Jackie.


End file.
